To be or not to be Dead
by Arkhadios
Summary: An improbable misunderstanding has Blake thinking the person she came to arrest, Yang, is dead. All the while having a dumbstruck Yang confusedly staring at her. Of course, shenanigans ensue. One-shot


Just a small thing my brain made and wouldn't leave me alone until I wrote it. I hope you'll enjoy!

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An insistent knock on the door had Ruby open an eye, blearily trying to wake up from one of those impromptu naps she was accustomed to taking. Rubbing her eyes and then stretching, she tried to set her ideas back in place while she went to the entrance, quietly wondering who could be visiting at such hour!

Well, technically speaking it was the middle of the afternoon, so it was as reasonable an hour to visit as any… But she had just woken up and was understandably a bit grumpy.

"Hi there, come on in! Whatcha here for?" she said cheerfully even before she had fully opened the door and her eyelids.

And perhaps that's why her tone was so cheerful. She hadn't noticed who was knocking on the door, nor their clothing, nor the shiny badge they seemed insistent on shoving under her nose.

"Patch Police Department. This is the Xiao-Long house?" the unknown voice asked, making her want to slam the door shut and her head against a wall.

"It is indeed," she said instead, slightly less cheerful. "What brought you here?"

She had the faintest of suspicions on why this agent was here, all unyielding and proud. A suspicion that had hair like fire and eyes a soothing lavender, when she wasn't busy getting in as much legal trouble as she could.

"I'm deputy Blake Belladonna, and I'd like to have a few words with miss Yang Xiao Long."

She sighed deeply. And there it was, trouble all over! Dad was not going to be happy about any of this. And if they sent in the deputy… That meant this wasn't going to be a nice friendly chat. Or it would be one in a holding cell, which… wasn't good news either. She blinked slowly, threw a look at the clock, and then blinked again.

Yang was on Summer's grave.

GREAT. Just, great. This afternoon couldn't be better.

"Follow me…" she finally sighed, shoulders sagging as she started making her way to the cliff just behind their backyard.

Surprisingly enough, the deputy seemed worried at her sudden change in mood. She even tried to reach out, only for her hand to coil back and her mouth to close a few seconds later. She probably saw the closed gleam in her eyes… She almost felt bad for it, until she remembered this was a police deputy here to arrest her sister.

They walked at a brisk pace, both clearly not wanting to spend any more time than strictly necessary on the ordeal. As such, Yang's flowing mane of blond hair was soon visible, the young woman herself kneeling in front of the rectangular stone that only bore Summer's symbol and a quote. Feeling tears stinging her silver eyes, she made a vague gesture toward the grave, not wanting to get closer for fear of collapsing completely.

She didn't need to see the letters engraved to hear her father's voice, on the very day they had etched this symbolic stone. She didn't need to read for the "Thus kindly I scatter" to resonate in her head, heavy with mourning and lingering with pain.

"I'm… I'm so sorry. I had no idea…" the deputy… Blake? Took an hesitant step forward, biting her lip. "I came here to arrest her, but I didn't know she…"

Her sentence abruptly ended when Yang's head snapped toward her, irises reddened with a mixture of pain and anger, tears flowing on her cheeks. Nonetheless, Blake took another step, and then another, until she finally knelt besides Yang under the scrutiny of the two sisters.

"My condolences. I'll.. I'll make sure her case is wiped clean, and I'll leave you to your mourning." She said slowly, taking off her hat and showing to the world two small, black cat ears.

Her case…? Summer didn't have a case. What in tarnation was that woman talking about? And wasn't she here to 'discuss' with Yang?

"By tomorrow, there will be no more file under the name Yang Xiao Long in our drawers, I promise. Her memory will be intact." She slowly rose to her feet, and the hat found its way back to cover her feline appendage. "And, I understand you would want nothing to do with me, but… I'm here if you want to talk. Not as an officer of the law, but just as me, Blake Belladonna."

She had put her hand on Yang's shoulder while she spoke, and Ruby couldn't help but let out a chortle of laughter that was hopefully choked by the tears threatening to fall. The absurdity of it all was just too hilarious! The unmarked grave… Yang's distraught look… It was no wonder she thought the death was recent, but to think Yang was dead when the blonde troublemaker was just under her nose?

Said blonde troublemaker was staring in confusion at the stranger, tears still streaming down her face slowly and a disbelieving look plain on her features. And really, who could blame her? It's not every day someone expresses condolences for your own death!

"Again, I'm sorry I intruded," Blake said while backing down, head hung low.

Just before she disappeared into the streets again, she cast one last glance and an attempt at a smile toward them, and then she was gone.

"What… what just happened?" Yang barely muttered

That's about when she lost it. She snorted, and then collapsed against the nearest tree, hitting its bark with her fist in a fit of uncontrollable laughter. Now that's something she never thought could happen so close to her mother's grave… then again, the events leading to it were pretty improbable too.

"The deputy came here searching for you," she managed between two laughs, "pretty sure she wanted to arrest you. But when I brought her here, she just…"

"She thought the grave was mine?!"

"For her defense, I did bring her to a grave and I didn't give her any more precisions. Still. You should have seen your face! It was priceless!"

"She thought the grave was mine. Oh my god, she thought I WAS DEAD! RUBY! WHAT DO I DO?!" Yang gradually panicked, her eyes somehow still returning to lavender. It seemed that panic was far enough from anger.

"I don't know, you can roll with it. Wouldn't hurt to have your case wiped, with all the stupid things you've done." She said half-heartedly, knowing very well that her sister wouldn't accept. She was many things, but she wasn't a liar. Not anymore at least.

"What am I supposed to tell her? 'Well hello, I'm sorry for the misunderstanding, I did not die! Can I still take you up on that offer to talk even though I'm a criminal and you're now probably sure I purposefully lied to you to have my case wiped'? That's going to go great!" sarcasm dripped from her voice, her expression dropping from panicked to completely lost.

"Well, if you do go talk to her right now, that should help a bit with the purposeful lie part. Wait a minute, Yang, what's that about still wanting to talk?"

"What? She's cute and nicer than most people I've met, okay?" A deadpan look prompted another outraged exclamation. "Don't you look at me like that, you were the one saying it'd take a date with a police officer to keep me in line for more than an hour!"

"God, Yang, that was a joke!" One that was pretty good at that, and it only added to her general hilarity. "But if you do want to flirt with the pretty cat lady, you'd better get going quick. I wouldn't want you to explain the situation in the middle of the station."

Ruby smiled, knowing it would take a second for her big sister to make a decision and start running down the hill in the most disorganized fashion there was. And sure enough, she wiped her tears while a determined look set on her features. A quick nod and she was off.

She looked at the blonde mane that dragged behind her for a little while, shaking her head slowly. Despite her apparent tiredness at her sister's antics, she was quite fond of her. Even if her notion of justice implied fighting small criminals and entitled assholes herself. And getting several arrests for public order offense, disrespect, resistance, and aggravated assault.

"Wait!" she shouted as soon as the blue uniform was in sight – something she didn't think could happen.

And yet here she was, running after a cop. To get arrested none the less. The world really must have been turning mad…

"Wait," she repeated when she got closer, noticing that the deputy had slowed down with a curious expression.

Skidding to a halt in front of her, she took a few seconds to breathe.

"I'm sorry, I was terribly rude back there."

"It's perfectly normal," the deputy interrupted, a sad light lingering in her eyes. "Don't apologize for it. You seem in better condition now though, would you mind giving me your name?"

"Of course not, I'm…"

'_Yin, Yang's twin sister'_ she nearly said. Instead, she forcefully slapped herself right across the face, effectively shaking her mind in place.

"What was that for?!" the raven-haired woman exclaimed, jumping back a little while her golden eyes scanned her over, visibly worried.

"I'm sorry about that, sometimes it's the only way I have to avoid saying stupid things," she blushed. She. Blushed. Today was definitely not normal. "I actually came to tell you that there was a misunderstanding. The grave you saw was my mother's, Summer Rose… I think you came to my house to arrest me."

Blake's eyes twitched awkwardly and her hat had a slight jerking motion, no doubt disturbed by a cat ear flickering. She opened and closed her mouth several times in a row, not saying anything and looking more confused by the minute, until she finally managed a single word.

"Yang?"

"Yep, that's me." She answered with an awkward laugh, nervously brushing a hand through her hair.

It seemed to only amplify the deputy's confusion, her honeyed gaze squinting in just the cutest way. Right now, Yang was willing to bet that she could beat Ruby in a cute contest, hands down.

"I don't understand. I was about to clean your case, why would you… Why would you tell me that?"

"Well, first of all, I only have a case because people call punching a racist in the guts a crime, and I'm not ashamed of that. Second, you really looked sad, and I don't want you to feel bad because of me. And third…"

"Third?"

"What can I say, I can't resist a pretty lady with handcuffs."

She waggled her eyebrows, exaggeratedly presenting her joined wrists as if she was being handcuffed right now. An eyebrow raised playfully over a golden iris, a smirk formed on Blake's lips and Yang would have hollered in joy if she had just a little less restraint. Instead, she settled on a wide grin, dutifully accepting the sarcastic remark that flew effortlessly from the feline woman.

"What was that you said earlier, about stopping yourself from saying stupid stuff?"

"Hey, I never said I was smart enough to do it every time." She was still grinning, and her smile grew even larger with the roll of the other's eyes.

"Fair. Although you've been so cooperative, handcuffs are hardly needed."

"You're such a tease! C'mon!"

"At least buy me dinner first" Her voice dripping with sarcasm didn't deter Yang in the slightest.

"You've got yourself a deal!"

She took a step back, and for a second Yang feared she might have been too direct. But then her expression softened, and Yang released a breath she hadn't noticed she was holding in. They kept walking toward the police station, a comfortable quiet settling and a warm tingling nesting in Yang's chest.

"Strange day, wasn't it?" Blake said flatly just before they pushed the steel-reinforced doors.

"You could say that twice! So, what's it like being asked out by the dead?"

She groaned.

"You're never going to let me live that one down, are you?"

"Nope!"

They finally entered the building with a smug smile and an amused headshake, taking what they hoped would be the strange first step of an adventure of a relationship.


End file.
